


Milky Eyes

by adrianwood (douchebagindisguise)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blind Character, College Setting, M/M, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:27:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/douchebagindisguise/pseuds/adrianwood
Summary: Ross and Michael are two broke college students living in a shitty apartment. They need each other, but Ross needs Michael more than anything. Michael's accent is comforting when all Ross can see is darkness.





	Milky Eyes

Ross blindly reached for the alarm clock that continued to spout the time over and over in the same obnoxious mechanical voice. He understood that it was seven in the morning, on Monday the twelfth of November. He let out a soft groan as he rolled over and heard his bedroom door open.

“Rossie, you gotta get up, bro.” The familiar accented voice said and Ross sighed in response and buried his face into his pillows.

“Mike, I don’t wanna go to class today,” Ross whined, his voice muffled by the pillows. Michael slid into the bed beside him and Ross smiled at his warmth and the comforting smell of his best friend. Michael started rubbing circles on Ross’s back and sighed.

“You never want to go to class, but you have to if we wanna become lawyers like you’ve been dreaming of- we have to,” Michael said, and Ross groaned again. His reaction pulled a laugh from Mike, and Ross turned to him with a smile on his face.

“Fine, fine. Did you make coffee?” Ross asked, hope in his voice as he heard Michael get off the bed, his warmth leaving.

“Nope,” Michael responded and Ross groaned loudly and sat up, the apartment’s unheated atmosphere brushed across his bare chest, “I got up early and got you an autumn spice latte from the Sweet Pearl across the street.” He chuckled when Ross gasped happily as Michael pressed the hot drink into his hands.

“Michael Morgan, you are a saint,” Ross mumbled as he brought the cup to his lips, relishing the sweet taste of the artificial pumpkin flavoring. Ross heard Michael’s soft chuckle as he heard clothes being sat beside him. He heard the boy walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower. The routine was so regular there was nothing said between them. Ross reached for his phone and used the voice recognition to turn on the music. Soft melodies of floated through the apartment as Ross set his coffee on the table beside his bed. He swung his legs over the bed, shivering as the cold air touched his skin and his feet hit the cold hardwood floors. He felt around for his clothes and grasped them, pulling the cotton shirt over his head. He stood up to pull on his jeans, the rough denim was welcoming in the cold apartment. He was significantly warmer than before and took another drink of his coffee before sitting down again on the bed. The blind man reached below him and grabbed his shoes, slipping them on. He picked up his coffee and the pair of round-rimmed sunglasses from the bedside table. His muscle memory guided him to where his bag would be hanging. He felt the small hooks on the wall and his bag was gone.

“Shit, Mike, where’s my bag?” He yelled over the rushing water of the shower. Ross heard Michael grumble something and then the shower turned off. What followed was the squeak of Michael slipping and the thud of him hitting the ground. Ross snorted and fell into a fit of laughter as he heard Michael cursing followed by another crash. Ross was trying to catch his breath as he heard Michael struggling to put his clothes on in the bathroom. After a hot minute, he heard Michael walking into the main room and felt a hand brush against his back and he felt his messenger bag’s strap pressed into his hands.

“Sorry Rossie, I moved it last night and completely forgot about your morning routine thing,” Michael explained and Ross nodded, a big grin on his face.

“Don’t worry about it, are you okay? Sounded like one hell of a fall.” Ross let out a breathy laugh and turned to bring a hand up to Michael’s face, a grin spreading across his face.

“London has fallen.” Michael joked, his accent as strong as ever, “We should get going, yeah?” He suggested and linked his arm with Ross’s.  
Ross nodded and agreed, walking with him to the door and grabbing his walking stick and coat on his way out. He held it above the ground as Michael guided him down the stairs and to the cold outside. The November air hit him and he shivered, grateful he had his coat. They made small talk as they walked to the campus that was not ten minutes away. They laughed and talked and passing people smiled at them.

“Rossie, I have a really odd question. I think about it a lot.” Michael said and Ross chuckled and nodded, “What do you see when you think of me? Er- not see but what do you think of when you’re around me?” Michael asked, correcting himself in the process.  
Ross giggled softly, “I can hear you, so I know what your voice sounds like and I can identify your accent in a crowd. I notice your breathing patterns when it gets really quiet. It’s one of the more comforting things in a life where all you see is darkness.” He smiled and squeezed Michael’s arm as he continued, “I know what you smell like, you smell like lemon and tobacco. Always, it’s sweet and bitter but it’s always really comforting. Hell, I would buy a candle if it smelled like you.” He joked and the two laughed. Although Ross couldn’t see it, Michael’s face donned a soft pink blush and he glanced at Ross with a soft smile.

“That’s not quite what I was expecting, not even in the slightest,” Michael said softly and chuckled. Ross grinned.

“I’m not sure what you were expecting. That’s just what my other senses pick up when I’m around you. That or your man bun and beard.” Ross laughed and reached over to tug on Michael’s growing beard. The two were quiet as they walked into the campus and made their way to the lecture hall their class was in. The class was quiet as the two walked in, arms linked together. There were soft whispers from different parts of the classroom and Ross scoffed.

“Why are they like that? Don’t they know I’m blind?” Ross mumbled to Michael as he guided them to their seats. Michael shook his head.

“I don’t think they do, Rossie. Give them the benefit of the doubt, for now just focus on your work. Don’t let them distract you.” Michael muttered in response and Ross nodded, fumbling with his notes.  
Michael pushed his hands away and sorted the notes out, laying them in front of Ross. The blind boy thanked him and started running his fingertips over the small bumps, reading the notes to find out where his professor had left off on Friday. He went through several pages and Michael finally got tired of him skimming and hinted at where they stopped. Ross laughed quietly and thanked him again. Ross relied on Michael for basically everything, and he was glad he had entered his life or he wouldn’t have this kind of comfort and protection. Especially in a college setting. Ross found where they left off and sent a smile to Michael. A boy behind Michael leaned forward and snickered in his ear.

“Keep your eyes off your boyfriend.” The anonymous boy said to Ross and he chuckled in response, “What’s so funny, homo?”  
Ross turned back and pushed his rimmed glasses down his nose, blinking a couple time to show off his cloudy white irises, “I would if I could, buddy.” He said and winked at the guy before turned back to his papers, taking his sunglasses of and setting them beside him. It annoyed him when they slipped down the bridge of his nose. Michael stifled a laughed and Ross just smiled down at his papers. He continued to run through his notes. The whole class period he could feel the boy behind him staring daggers into the back of his head. Towards the end of class as Michael packed up his stuff and assisted Ross with his notes. The kid who had bothered Ross earlier walked up to them and looked meek.

“Hey, I’m uh- really sorry about that back there.” He said and reached out his hand to Ross and Michael gave him a look, he turned to offer his hand to Michael, “I’m Miles, I wanted to apologize. That was really out of line and even if you two are together- I shouldn’t have said that.” He explained and Ross nodded.

“Amazing, let’s go, Michael,” Ross said cooly and slung his bag over his shoulder and reached to grab Michael’s arm and grabbed his hand instead. Ross dragged Michael out of the lecture hall, his walking stick firm in hand and Michael’s hand tightly in the other. Michael stopped him once they were out and laughed quietly.

“You dork, you can’t be the one leading me places. You’re the blind one.” He said with a chuckle and Ross breathed a soft laughed.

“I guess you’re right. Can we go eat before debate? We have an hour before class starts and I didn’t have much of a breakfast.” Ross mumbled and Michael nodded and agreed. The two walked off of the campus and towards the small bakery that stood across the street. Ross hadn’t noticed he still gripped Michael’s hand firmly until Michael laced their fingers together. Ross stiffened and then relaxed, giving Michael’s hand a soft squeeze. Michael shot him a smile and they walked up to the counter to order. There was no line, so they took their time. Michael described what they had and Ross responded with what he wanted. After a couple minutes, Michael ordered for the both of them. The woman working the register glanced down at their hands and smiled before taking their order. Michael guided Ross to a table and told him to wait as he grabbed their brunch cakes and coffees. Ross sat down and held his hands in front of him. He ran his thumb over his other palm and felt the indentions in his skin. He listened to the soft overplayed melodies of songs they’ve heard too much of over the speaker and the register girl speaking Michael’s name. There was something else she added but Ross didn’t catch it. Michael walked back and sat down across from Ross, sliding his coffee and lemon pound cake over to him. 

“Thanks, and what else did she say? I heard her mumble something to you but I didn’t catch what it was.” Ross asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Michael laughed softly.

“She said we were cute. Not sure what she meant but hey, happy to take the compliment.” Michael said and took a drink of his tea and tore small pieces of his coffee cake off before eating it.  
Ross smiled, “She thinks we’re together, Mikey. Don’t blame her, we came in here holding hands.” Ross took another drink of his coffee and stared at the table, well. He wasn’t really staring at much at all but his blank eyes were trained on the table.

“Aren’t we together? I mean-” Michael groaned and covered his face as he realized how that sounded, “I meant we’re really close…” Michael said, not sure how to fix his mistake. Ross laughed, there was almost a hint of disappointment in his tone. Michael caught it before the blind man could continue, “Would you like to?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.  
Ross tilted his head to the side, “Would I like to be with you? Was that not obvious from the beginning?” Ross retorted with a smile on his face, as he finished his cake and continued to drink his coffee with his elbows propped up on the table.

“N-No, it wasn’t. Can we have this conversation later? Because frankly, I’m extremely confused and would love to hear all about it when we don’t have work to do.” Michael said and tossed their garbage and walked back to link his arm with Ross’s. Ross slid his hand down and laced their fingers together. Michael didn’t object and they walked back to campus with their hot drinks in hand.  
The rest of their day was quiet and focussed, so much so that Ross was starting to get worried. Had he revealed too much? Had he said the wrong thing? He was scared this small interaction would cost him the stability of his current living situation. He depended on Michael for everything. Michael was there to help him wake up, to get him up and moving. He was exciting and generous and sweet and kind. He treated Ross like a person and not a burden or just someone with a difficult disability. It made his stomach churn as he thought about a life without Michael. That life was sad and difficult and not much fun. Michael was a bright light in his dark life, everything seemed brighter (not in the physical sense of the word) when Michael was around. Their day seemed to pass by in a flash as Ross was caught up in his thoughts. He got barely any work done during class and it made him feel unproductive and upset. More so than he already was. Their usually cheerful walk to the apartment was quiet, and although they kept their fingers laced there was still enough tension to cut with a knife. Michael practically dragged Ross up the stairs and into their apartment. Ross hung up his bag as his routine called for and his muscle memory guided him to his unmade bed. He fell against the mattress and shed his shoes before curling up in the blankets. He knew they needed to have this conversation, but he was scared. Scared to lose Michael. He felt the mattress dip down beside him and he sat up and leaned against Michael.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled and Michael laughed quietly. Although, Ross didn’t find any humor in the situation.

“For what? If anything, I should be apologizing for being so oblivious for how long? I met you in our Junior year in high school, so four years. I’m not very perceptive, I apologize.” Michael spoke softly and Ross nodded.

“Four years… seems like a lifetime. I’ve known you for only four years, it feels like much longer.” Ross said, “Maybe we met in another life.” Ross pondered quietly.

“I would hope so, you’re so wonderful, Ross. I don’t know how I managed to miss it.” Michael said with a soft chuckle.

“Maybe I should have been more strong. Hopefully, we’re on the same page on what it is.” Ross said and laid back down. Michael laid beside him and turned his head to stares into his milky white irises. Michael shrugged, and Ross nodded, “It is that I’m in love with you.” The blind boy spoke quietly, his voice just above a whisper. In the quiet of the apartment, he heard Michael’s usually soft breathing hitch. Ross stood up and started walking back and forth from where he knew the bedside table was and the closet doors. He couldn’t see what he was doing but he covered his face and rubbed it in exasperation. He heard Michael pad over to where he was pacing and grab his arms firmly.

“I’m sorry,” Ross repeated, his voice quiet, afraid to give his sadness away. A lump formed in his throat as he directed his empty stare at the ground instead of at Michael. 

“Stop apologizing-” Michael began and Ross shook his head and interrupted him with a broken voice. Tears went unnoticed down his face.

“I don’t wanna lose you, Mikey. You’re the only thing I have left. I depend on you for everything, I need you in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without you, my life doesn’t make sense without you in it. You’re too important to me. I can’t lose you. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t…” Ross rambled, trailing off. He shook his head as tears flowed steadily down his cheeks and he hiccuped between phrases. Ross rested his head on Michael’s shoulder, “I keep jacking everything up…” He mumbled and Michael brought him closer. 

“You keep forgetting that there are two sides to a story.” Michael said softly, and Ross could hear the smile in his face, “You fell in love with a boy who didn’t know his place in the world. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with my life. Now, with you in it, I have a purpose.” Michael explained and Ross lifted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. Michael laughed softly and continued, “Yes, you’re hearing me correctly. You gave me purpose. When I met you I was overwhelmed with a sense of love, I guess you could call it. I felt like I needed to be near you, and protect you and love you and care. I still get that feeling every day when I wake up. I assumed it was just that I deeply connected with you but I’m starting to think it’s a little more than that.” Michael said and brought a hand up to Ross’s face. Michael leaned in slowly and Ross let out a breathy laugh.

“If you’re going to kiss me, do it. Don’t play games with the blind boy.” Ross said with a soft smile and Michael nodded and connected their lips in a messy, chaste kiss. Their noses bumped and despite that, it was so sweet and warm and Ross barely felt himself move his arms to Michael’s waist. Ross turned his head and attempted to pull the Brit in deeper but Michael pulled back.

“Wow, I didn’t expect that,” Michael said softly and breathed a quiet chuckle. Ross grinned.

“That’s two things you didn’t expect from me today,” Ross said and laughed, pulled Michael towards the bed.

“Hopefully there’s more, your surprises seem to be very pleasant,” Michael said and smiled as Ross pulled him to the messy, unmade bed. Ross fell into the tangle of sheets and blankets and pulled Michael with him. 

“Stay with me tonight?” Ross asked quietly as the two situated beneath the blankets. Michael scoffed.

_“Without a doubt.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this short story. It's rough because this is a test post for original works here on Archive. I write a lot of short stories and this is one that I actually got around to finishing. I appreciate comments and kudos, but if you're looking for fanfiction I have another archive account dedicated to that. @douchebagindisguise is where you'll find my other works. 
> 
> Thank you.  
> -Adrian


End file.
